Dr. Lorenz Graham

    Dr. Lorenz Graham was born January 27, 1902, in New Orleans, Louisiana. No one could have guessed that this minister's son would become a popular writer of everyday African and African-American stories.

    Lorenz's father often moved from place to place. Because of his father's profession, Dr. Graham didn't have much time for a formal education. His sister taught him how to read and write before he attended school. Finally, he enrolled in a school in Chicago Illinois. at the age of six and skipped first grade. He graduated school with honors and moved on to college.

    In 1926, when Lorenz was twenty-four and a student at ULCA, he went to Africa as a missionary to teach young children in Liberia. There he met another missionary from the United States, Ruth Morris. Lorenz taught at an all-boys school, while Ruth taught at an all-girls school. When Dr. Graham returned to the United States due to malaria, he lived in New York during the height of the Harlem Renaissance. While there, he enrolled in classes at Columbia University. One class, Technique of the Novel, shaped his life's goal.

    At first Lorenz wrote stories from the Bible, and then decided to write a story of a normal African family to prove his protagonist, Momolu, "is just another fellow." (Graham 111) People didn't know a lot about Africa and its inhabitants, so Dr. Graham made it his mission to inform people around the world that Africans were not savages. However, it would be many years before his stories would be published.

    In 1929 he married Ruth Morris in Richmond, Virginia. He worked in Virginia during the years of the Great Depression and faced discrimination and prejudice. There Graham would finally be able to settle down and start his family. He also worked in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's program called the "New Deal." When times got bad he moved to New York and decided to work for Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois, his brother in-law and one of the most famous African-American leaders of all times.

    While in New York, Graham's sister, Shirley persuaded him to try to get one of his stories published. He reluctantly agreed and received a contract for his first book, How God Fix Jonah, a series of stories he wrote based on the Bible tales he had heard retold by Africans. Right after his first book was published, he got another contract signed for his children's book, Tales Of Momolu, which he had written in order to prove that, "people are people wherever you go." With new confidence Graham endeavored to have a third book published, South Town. This story was written to show an everyday family and their struggles in the segregated south. It was rejected everywhere he went except Follett Publishing Company in 1958. More of Graham's books are: North Town, Whose Town? Return to South Town, I, Momolu, Every Man Heart Lay Down, and several others. During his life Dr. Graham published over twenty fictional and non-fictional stories. Some of them went out of print but have been re-issued thanks to the dedication of his daughter, Dr. Ruth Graham Siegrist.

    Many of Dr. Graham's books received awards. During his lifetime he received: the Charles Follett Award for South Town in 1958 and the Child Study Association of America Award for South Town; The Coretta Scott King Award (Honorable Mention) for Every Man Heart Lay Down; and the Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award. After his death Dr. Graham received the Alabama Young Author's Roberta Long Medal for distinguished literature celebrating cultural diversity of children in 2000. The American Library Association (ALA) Notable Award for How God Fix Jonah, in 2001, and his books are listed on the Ten Best Books On Religion For Children also for How God Fix Jonah, in 2001. Lorenz Graham received many other awards for his amazing work.

    Lorenz Graham accomplished a lot during his lifetime. In addition to all of his books he also had five children, 15 grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews including me! Lorenz Graham became Dr. Graham upon receiving an Honorary Doctorate from Virginia Union University in 1983. Lorenz and Ruth Graham were Peace Ambassadors and traveled all over the world.

Lorenz Graham died in 1989. His books, however, are being re-issued so that children in the 21st century and in future generations can enjoy them. Dr. Lorenz Graham left an incredible legacy for generations to come.

Works Cited

Graham, Lorenz. Something About the Author. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1988. Graham, Lorenz. South Town. Honesdale: Boyds Mills Press, Inc., 1986.

Siegrist, Ruth Graham. Graham Books. February 25, 2004. <http://www.grahambooks.com> February 15, 2004.

* I also received information from Ruth Graham Siegrist, Dr. Lorenz Graham's daughter.